United States President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Iran and Israel have agreed to a “complete and total” ceasefire. The ceasefire will begin in “approximately six hours from now” after each country has “wound down” their “final missions,” Trump said. The peace process will involve two 12-hour ceasefire periods, starting with Iran. Israel will then follow with the second 12-hour ceasefire and “upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World,” Trump wrote. Both Israel and Iran have yet to confirm they agreed to the ceasefire. Trump stressed that during each ceasefire stage, the other side will keep “peaceful and respectful.” He also congratulated both parties, “on the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will,” for ending a conflict that, he said, “could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East.”
Iran launches six missiles toward US bases in Qatar
WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) – Axios, citing an Israeli official, reported on Monday that Iran had launched six missiles toward U.S. bases in Qatar. Axios had earlier reported that Iran was preparing to fire missiles at the bases.
NN: this is not over ..Proof Iran has a death wish
IDF attacks on Tehran exceed 100 munitions in 2 hours
The Times of Israel reported on Monday that more than 100 munitions have been dropped by Israeli fighter jets on key military sites in Tehran over the past two hours. The figure is based on an updated calculation following a series of announcements by the Israeli military during the day. According to the IDF, the strikes targeted major command centers operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the “Thar-Allah” headquarters, which is designated to protect the capital from internal threats. The “Sayyed al-Shuhada” Corps, another IRGC unit responsible for homeland defense, was also hit. In addition, Israeli forces said they struck the General Intelligence Directorate of Iran’s internal security, which oversees information control and monitors personnel within the agency.
Katz: Israel attacking Tehran with unprecedented force
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that the Israeli military is at the moment “striking with unprecedented force regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.” “For every rocket fired at the Israeli home front, the Iranian dictator will be severely punished, and the strikes will continue with full intensity. We will continue to act to defend the home front and defeat the enemy until all war objectives are achieved,” it was said in a statement issued by Katz’s office, and that “the images will soon be released, illustrating the depth of the damage.” The Israel Defense Forces announced previously that the Israeli Air Force began a series of attacks targeting military sites in Tehran.
US STRIKES IRAN….. FOX NEWS GREAT INTEVIEWS
World Braces for Iran’s Response After US Strikes Signal New Era
The unprecedented US airstrikes on Iran have set traders and governments worldwide on edge, as the Islamic Republic warns of retaliation and Israel shows no sign of letting up in its assault. President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy bunker-busting bombs, Washington’s first direct military action against Iran after decades of hostility, has pushed the Middle East into uncharted territory and raised geopolitical risk in a world economy already facing severe uncertainty over his trade war. Oil rose almost 6% when markets opened Monday morning in Asia, with analysts warning $100 a barrel is in sight depending on Iran’s further response to the conflict, which began June 13 with a surprise attack by Israel. The US dollar pushed higher, stock futures fell and Bitcoin slid below $100,000 for the first time since early May. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier said the country reserves all options to respond. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which answers to the Iran’s supreme leader, signaled US military bases in the region could be targeted. Trump has vowed to meet any retaliation with force “far greater” than the US strikes on the nuclear sites. He also floated the possibility of regime change in Iran, although US and Israeli officials Sunday stressed that isn’t their aim. It’s still unclear how successful the US strikes were in eliminating Iran’s most heavily protected enrichment site at Fordow. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which officially has the task of monitoring Iran’s program, told the UN Security Council on Sunday that no one yet knows the condition of the facility, nor the location of Iran’s more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%.
Any move by Tehran to harass traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for global crude and natural gas, has raised the specter of a spike in energy prices at a fragile moment for the global economy.
“An expanding conflict adds to the risk of higher oil prices and an upward impulse to inflation,” Bloomberg Economics analysts including Ziad Daoud wrote in a report.
Goldman Sachs: Geopolitical Risk Could Add $10 to Oil Prices
- Goldman Sachs estimates a geopolitical premium of approximately $10 per barrel on Brent crude, though it suggests oil could exceed $90 if Iranian supply is disrupted.
- The bank’s base-case scenario, which assumes no supply disruption and Brent averaging $60 per barrel, is becoming increasingly doubtful due to President Trump’s floating of the possibility of the United States joining Israel in bombing Iran.
- Barclays warns that crude prices could surge above $100 per barrel if the Middle East conflict escalates, and Brent could reach $85 per barrel if half of Iran’s oil exports are disrupted.
Geopolitics could move Brent crude higher by around $10 per barrel, Goldman Sachs has estimated, from a starting point in the mid-$70s. However, the bank admitted oil could top $90 in case of Iranian supply disruption. Goldman’s analysts pointed to the disruption of oil flows via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by the Yemeni Houthis’ attacks on vessels as an example of the fragility of Middle Eastern oil export security. Its base-case scenario, the bank said, remains the same, with Brent averaging $60 per barrel in the final quarter of the year in case of no supply disruption. This scenario, however, has in recent days become increasingly doubtful as President Trump floats the possibility of the United States joining Israel in bombing Iran. “I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told media earlier this week, causing a reaction among Republican party supporters who’d rather the U.S. stayed away from that war. “We can’t do this again,” Steven Bannon said at an event in Washington this week. “We’ll tear the country apart. We can’t have another Iraq.” Trump has acknowledged the opposition, saying “I’m not looking to fight. But if it’s a choice between them fighting or having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.”
Barclays has warned that crude could surge above $100 per barrel if the war in the Middle East heats up. The bank also said that Brent could hit $85 per barrel if half of Iran’s oil exports gets disrupted. Iran exports over 2 million barrels of crude daily, almost exclusively to China.
Iran’s parliament agrees to close Hormuz strait for traffic
Member of the Iranian Parliament Esmaeil Kowsari told the press on Sunday that the lawmakers voted in favor of closing the Strait of Hormuz for traffic in response to the United States and Israel’s recent attacks on the country’s territory. In order to become official, the decision must be approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strait is considered a significant route for oil transport. Previously, US officials such as Vice President JD Vance and State Secretary Marco Rubio warned Iran against the closing of Hormuz, with the latter describing it as an “economic suicide.”Meanwhile, local media reported that the Majlis also voted in favor of resuming the country’s nuclear program.
NN: please see BlackMask Market Update titled: choke point
Iran Choses WAR
United States President Donald Trump stated that after the US strike on Iran’s three key nuclear sites, there would “either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we’ve witnessed for the last eight days.” “Remember, there are many targets left, tonight’s was the most difficult of them all by far and perhaps the most lethal,” Trump said, warning that “if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.” The president added that most of the other targets can be taken out in “a matter of minutes” and that “there is no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight.”
Trump says US bombed 3 Iranian nuclear sites
United States President Donald Trump stated that the US conducted a bombing of the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites in Iran. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that the US has “completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” adding that all of the planes were “now outside of Iran airspace” and “safely on their way home.” The president congratulated the American troops who participated in the strike and announced that “now is the time for peace.”